Abstract [en]

Background: Sweden is changing and becoming a more diverse society. Nurses need to work holistically in order to provide a patient-centered care. Challenges may arise when there are communication difficulties due to language barriers and different cultural traditions, which may cause different values about what health-care involves. Aim: To illuminate nurses' experiences of cultural encounters with patients Method: A literature review with grounding in qualitative approach. Results: A cultural difference was something that brought a reaction of the nurses in the encounter with the patient. Something that was partly due to different values, traditions and attitudes. The most prominent was the language barrier and also relatives' participation in their care; one aspect that many nurses felt that it hindered the possibility of an individualized care. Other differences were food culture, religion, and emotional expression and behavior. Conclusion: These results were consistent with previous research undertaken in the chosen phenomenon. The nurses who rarely met patients from other cultures usually experienced major challenges in nursing, while those nurses who had more frequent cultural encounters and more experience tended patients with a different cultural background showed a higher level of cultural competence. The need for further knowledge and education about other cultures is something that could be implemented during nursing education in order to prepare nurses to cultural care encounters. A more diverse set of staff with different cultural backgrounds could enrich and facilitate nursing care. Clinical significance: There is both a lack of knowledge and communication difficulties in cultural encounters in health care. Professional interpreter should convene when necessary and develop cultural awareness through clinical training of nurses and other healthcare professionals.